ALLURE OF THE SEAS

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Widow sues cruise line over death of father of four

The wife of a father-of-four who died after diving headfirst off a structure at Roatan island during an onshore break from a cruise is suing the Royal Caribbean cruise line now. Edmund Rucker, 52, died on March 15, 2023, when the 'Allure of the Seas' was docked at Roatan. The 52-year old man had jumped into the water from a high dock and struck his head, leaving him unconscious ultimately leading to his death. The structure may have been previously used to support a zip line which was abandoned years ago. It is unknown why the dangerous structure was still available for use by tourists. Several people indicated that other accidents, including multiple deaths in the same area, had happened and that there should be warnings to prevent similar accidents in the future. Rucker’s wife, Laura Rucker, is now suing Royal Caribbean, alleging the cruise line acted recklessly by encouraging passengers to take part in excursions in Roatan at a time when there were work stoppages and strikes in the health and public safety sectors in Honduras. Royal Caribbean allegedly knew that there were strikes in Honduras in the healthcare sector and chose to dock at Roatan anyway because of the revenue generated at this port of call. This resulted in a delay in emergency medical care available to Mr. Rucker.

Boy fell from balcony and died

A 16 year old boy was killed after he fell off the 'Allure of the Seas' on Nov 25, 2023. He died after he fell from a balcony and landed on the deck, while the ship was en route from Port Canaveral, Florida, to Nassau, Bahamas. After the accident, an announcement was made requesting that passengers donate blood.

Passenger died due to lack of medical assistance in Roatan

Edmond Rucker, who died after diving off a pier in Roatan, was pulled ashore and given CPR by people on the beach, while medical personnel didn't arrive for almost an hour on March 15, when the 'Allure of the Seas' on a week-long Royal Caribbean cruise. People— including children and teenager s —were jumping off a structure that was apparently once used as a zip line platform. Rucker was the first person that actually dove in. It took a second for him to come up, a little bit longer than normal. He wasn't underwater very long, but when he came up, it looked like he was just floating. The people that were on the platform waiting to jump after him, started panicking like something wasn't right. Three men swam out and brought Rucker to the beach and performed CPR, while there was no medical help at all It was at least 50 minutes before a medical person got there. Due to the extremely poor response time and lack of emergency personnel he did not make it. Rucker was covered with towels and umbrellas to shield his body. Rucker's body remained on the beach for at least four hours because employees of the Public Prosecutor's Office were on strike. His body was eventually put back on the 'Allure of the Seas' to return to the U.S. On May 21, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: "While ashore in Roatan, Honduras, a guest sailing on board Allure of the Seas sadly passed away. Royal Caribbean International is providing support and assistance to the guest's loved ones at this time." A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help the Rucker family with funeral and other costs, which has collected more than $28,000 in donations.